Culture Knowledge Base
The NFDI4Culture Knowledge Base contains guidelines, reports, and specifications by the task areas of the consortium covering all aspects of research data management in the domain of material and immaterial cultural heritage. Additionally, we provide you with curated link recommendations to high quality open educational resources.
Type:
Documenting 2 Items
21.08.2023
Data Curation Profile
Link Recommendation
Language(s):
German
The publication by Jake Carlson provides instructions on how to use the so-called "toolkit" for documenting research data, as well as templates and examples compiled for free use by Purdue University in the US.
21.08.2023
Data Documentation
Link Recommendation
Language(s):
German
The site provides detailed information on why, how and which research data should be documented in accordance with the FAIR criteria, with regard to formats, vocabularies, languages, protocols, repositories, persistent identifications.
Organizing 4 Items
21.08.2023
Tools for Data Organisation
Link Recommendation
Language(s):
German
The overview compilation of forschungsdaten.info offers a first insight around tools for data organization of scientific data. It refers to various tools and software as well as their documentation.
21.08.2023
Research data policies for research projects: a structured guide
Link Recommendation
Language(s):
German
A research data policy for research projects creates transparency in the handling of research data and requires planning, documentation and description. The contents of the guide will be transferred to an online generator as the project progresses.
21.08.2023
Data Organisation
Link Recommendation
Language(s):
German
The topic of data organization is addressed here in an overview and some measures for good data organization are presented, as well as references to other, related topics.
21.08.2023
Data Life Cycle
Link Recommendation
Language(s):
German
The article provides an overview of the data lifecycle and its individual stages.
Overarching topics 5 Items
04.09.2025
Guideline for a FAIR Management of Cultural Research Data
NFDI4Culture Guideline
Author(s):
Angela Kailus
Version: 2.0.1
In order to be optimally re-usable, research data should be processed according to the FAIR principles. This guideline explains what these principles mean and how they can be implemented in cultural studies and heritage collections.
28.05.2025
Reports FlexFunds 2024
NFDI4Culture Report
Author(s):
Florian Jenett, David Rittershaus, Anton Koch, Lozana Rossenova, Kolja Bailly
Version: 1.0.0
The FlexFunds are used to support projects and measures for the needs-based (further) development of research tools and data services in the NFDI4Culture communities. The projects funded in 2024 report on their results here.
04.03.2025
What is NFDI4Culture?
NFDI4Culture Video Guideline
Author(s):
Sarah Pittroff
Version: 1.0.0
What is NFDI4Culture? The animated film answers questions about the activities of the consortium and about new solutions in research data management – what they are needed for and who they are good for.
17.02.2025
Research Data in Cultural Studies – an introduction
NFDI4Culture Guideline
Author(s):
Martin Albrecht-Hohmaier, Katharina Bergmann, Christoph Eggersglüß, Andrea Polywka, Alexander Stark
Version: 1.0.1
A basic introduction to research data management in the arts, cultural studies and humanities, with explanations for the most important concepts, standards and tools.
14.08.2023
Shaping inventory-based research
Link Recommendation
Language(s):
German
In its discussion impulse on the scientific, scholarly and cultural use of collections, the Council for Information Infrastructures (RfII) addressed the (future) role of collecting institutions in the digital transformation of science with regard to the framework conditions.
Planning 10 Items
30.09.2025
LIDO handbook of cataloguing and publishing metadata on cultural objects, vol. 3: architecture and other immovable works (2025)
Link Recommendation
Language(s):
German
This handbook is an application profile of the metadata standard LIDO, providing guidance on how to create coherently structured object descriptions for architectural and other immovable objects, and how to adhere to standards for best results (sharing and linking on the Web).
25.03.2025
Archiving Social Media Data: A guide for archivists and researchers (2021)
Link Recommendation
Language(s):
English
Published by the Consortium of European Social Science Data Archives (CESSDA), this guide provides a compact introduction to data-driven social media research, particularly useful for planning and beginners.
15.08.2023
The challenge of data quality – recommendations for the future viability of research in the digital transformation (2019)
Link Recommendation
Language(s):
German,
English
The position paper of the Council for Information Infrastructures (RfII) deals with quality assurance and enhancement in the documentation of research data and is a comprehensive and motivating analysis on the topic of quality assurance in the science system.
15.08.2023
Iconclass
Link Recommendation
Language(s):
English
Iconclass is a comprehensive classification system for the indexing of representational content in pictorial collections that is used in museums, libraries and research projects worldwide. It is particularly suitable for indexing Western art.
14.08.2023
How to be FAIR with your data (2021)
Link Recommendation
Language(s):
English
The teaching and training manual is intended to support higher education institutions in integrating FAIR-specific content into curricula. It offers a comprehensive presentation of all FDM and FAIR topics, arranged by competence profiles, and includes practical material.
14.08.2023
GO FAIR
Link Recommendation
Language(s):
English
GO FAIR is a bottom-up initiative aiming to implement the FAIR data principles and make data discoverable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR). It provides an implementation network active in the areas of GO CHANGE, GO TRAIN, GO BUILD.
Rights & Ethics 4 Items
06.11.2025
Legal assessment of 3D digitisation at Cultural Heritage Institutions
NFDI4Culture Guideline
Author(s):
Katja Sternitzke, Grischka Petri
Version: 1.0.1
The decision tree supports cultural heritage institutions in clarifying rights for 3D digitization and the publication of 3D data from their collections. Created by FIZ Karlsruhe and the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation as part of NFDI4Culture.
23.01.2025
Internet Research: Ethical Guidelines AoIR (2019)
Link Recommendation
Language(s):
English
The Association of Internet Research (AoIR) provides internationally renowned guidelines (version 3.0) to the ethical challenges of Internet research. The Companion Resources (6.) contain further topics for in-depth study.
15.08.2023
Dealing with collection items from colonial contexts (2021)
Link Recommendation
Language(s):
German
The guideline of the German Museums Association on dealing with collections from colonial contexts provides information and working aids for collections in researching, documenting and presenting objects and in cooperating with societies of origin.
15.08.2023
Data protection law – BERD@NFDI: Assistant for checking the scope of application under data protection law
Link Recommendation
Language(s):
English
The tool allows researchers to independently determine whether and how they process personal data. In this way, the responsibility remains with the researchers and the assessment takes into account all the details of the research activity.
Data sharing & publishing 5 Items
13.06.2025
Basics of digital preservation. A guideline to digital preservation from the perspective of the NFDI4Culture community.
NFDI4Culture Guideline
Author(s):
Jörg Heseler, Alexandra Büttner, Matthias Arnold
Version: 1.1.0
The guideline conveys the basics of digital preservation, introduces digital archives in NFDI4Culture, explains the path of research data into the digital archive, explains the OAIS model and introduces preservation strategies. The focus is on cultural assets.
12.06.2025
Data integration into the Culture Knowledge Graph
NFDI4Culture Guideline
Author(s):
Alexandra Büttner, Oleksandra Bruns, Heike Fliegl, Etienne Posthumus, Harald Sack, Torsten Schrade et al.
Version: 1.1.0
Data providers in the NFDI4Culture communities are invited to integrate metadata on research data into the Culture Knowledge Graph. The guideline outlines integration options and offers basic guidance for understanding the Culture Knowledge Graph.
10.02.2025
Checklist for appropriate handling of research data
Link Recommendation
Language(s):
German
This DFG questionnaire helps researchers to plan and describe the handling of research data in their project beyond the context of an application.
14.08.2023
Repositories for Research Data
Link Recommendation
Language(s):
German
The 2017 paper by Cordula Franzke ("Repositories for research data using the example of the Digital Humanities in national and international comparison") deals with the basic quality criteria for repositories.
14.08.2023
Repositories - differentiated search for repositories
Link Recommendation
Language(s):
English
re3data is a service for searching research data repositories worldwide. It is possible to search specifically by content categorization (e.g. subject areas).